The Abridged version:
- Research by Davis Media Access found a severe lack of quality news and information serving Yolo County residents.
- Abridged and Yolo Local, an initiative of Davis Media Access, will serve residents with listening sessions, events and a free weekly newsletter.
- Journalism produced by the groundbreaking partnership will be free to access and driven by community input.
Yolo County deserves a news service that listens before it reports.
Abridged by PBS KVIE has partnered with Davis Media Access and its Yolo Local initiative to serve the residents of Yolo County with free public service journalism that seeks to increase residents’ access to reliable local news, spark civic participation and connect us with one another.
The partnership — a first of its kind in the Sacramento region — includes a weekly Yolo County newsletter written and reported by Abridged journalist Daniel Hennessy. The newsletter is free and arrives in inboxes every Wednesday morning.
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Our partnership with Yolo Local is committed to meeting Yolo County residents where they live, work, and play through face-to-face listening sessions and events, inviting residents to help shape the stories we report. The two organizations will co-host events in the months ahead that will create opportunities for Yolo County residents to speak for themselves and build relationships with our journalists and each other.
Davis Media Access spent months conducting research and conversations to develop ideas for addressing the severe lack of local news and information in Yolo County. The findings — including a call to provide a deeper understanding of local governments, agriculture, education and the experiences of immigrants and communities of color — will help guide the journalism produced by the partnership.
“Yolo Local is grounded in the belief that our civic health, democratic traditions and capacity to address community issues are directly related to our ability to access local, fact-based, accessible information in Yolo County,” said Autumn Labbé-Renault, DMA’s Executive Director, who, along with community-engagement journalist Jesikah Maria Ross was a principal in Yolo Local’s development. “As a trusted partner in Yolo County, Davis Media Access/Yolo Local is thrilled to collaborate with KVIE/Abridged on the launch of its flagship newsletter for this area, and is committed to continued engagement designed to serve the needs of this vibrant and diverse area we call home.”
The Yolo County newsletter seeks to reflect the diverse perspectives of Yolo County. The newsletter is more than a generic feed of repurposed content; it aims to reflect the experiences of Yolo County’s rural, urban, farmworker, student and civic identities. In addition to highlighting significant news stories, the newsletter will include resources for residents to get involved in the issues shaping Yolo County’s future, answer reader questions and provide updates from the county’s farms and ranches.
“Yolo County deserves reliable news and information that will connect its residents with one another, highlight its victories and challenges, and empower residents to play an active role in the issues directly impacting their future,” said Ryan Lillis, Associate General Manager of News at PBS KVIE. “This partnership prioritizes substance over clicks with public service journalism driven by the people who call Yolo County home.”